BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) Daily Calorie Calculator

The basal metabolic rate (BMR) and calorie calculator is a excellent tool for working out how many calories your body needs on a daily basis depending on the amount and intensity of your exercise regime.

Instructions

This BMR tool works on a proven formula and is very accurate. The calculator uses two formulas to calculate your body's daily calorie requirements.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Formula
The basal metabolic rate formula takes several variables like height, weight, age and gender to calculate your calorie needs as if you did not do any exercise.

Harris Benedict Formula
The Harris Benedict Formula takes the number produced by the BMR formula and multiplies it depending on your activity level.

The only factor it omits is lean body mass and thus the ratio of muscle-to-fat a body has. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very overweight (will over-estimate calorie needs).

Hi I just bumped into this amazing site. I am in little confusion while selecting appropriate activity category to figure out my BMR/Daily calorie calculator.
I am a 60 yrs old woman. 219 lbs, 5'3" is in the process of losing weight. I've a desk job, since last 2 months I've been doing 60 min cardio during lunch and 45 min weights/misc workouts at the gym in the evening. I work out 6 days/week and wear a Polar HRM, that logs avg daily training burn in the range of 750-850 cal. Can you please guide me? Thanks.

Hi I'm 28 years old I wait 132 lb I'm 5 6 I just start working out couple months ago I have muscles on my arms on my legs on my back and my shoulders but the problem I have a little belly and I'm trying to lose it I don't know what to do should I bulk and then cut or just cut right now I'm trying to have a shredded body I don't know how much calories should I eat can you help me please

Hey, I’m 24 f weight 45.6kgs and 153cm tall.
I want to lose a little bit of fat (obviously not heaps) but enough so I can then tone and gain muscle.
I was wondering if 60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week elevated heart rate majority of the time class as moderate exercise? If so think for cutting I need around 1500 calories. That sound right? Also the days couple or few days I don’t exercise do I then lower my calorie intake for cutting or does it stay at 1500 because the other 3-5 days of exercise make up and it all works out? Hope that makes sense! Really need advice on macro stuff.

I'm 6'3, 200 lbs, 26 yr old male. I'm eating roughly 2,000 calories a day and working out an hour each day. I Just started your Chris Pratt program the beginning of the week, before that i was doing basic aerobic exercises for about 20 min daily. The BMR calculator says to eat 3,500 calories a day. That seems almost impossible. I want to bulk up, then cut. Any suggestions on how to do all this? Thank you for your time!

2000 cals is pretty low for someone of your size and age. 200lbs is a solid weight, so I'd stick closer to the 3500 estimated here. You may need to give or take some calories depending on your goal at the time.

I'd recommend starting slow. Bump up your calorie intake ~250-300 calories at a time until you get back up to 3500.

Getting that many calories down a day certainly is challenging. But if you want to build muscle, it's going to be necessary.

(Side note - we're about the same size, and I eat that amount of calories daily. It is certainly doable. Macro breakdown for me is ~170g of protein, 400-450g of carbs, 85-95g of fat just to give you some anecdote - everyone will be different.)

Hi. I´m consuming like 1800 calories. according to the calolrie calculator, I need like 2942. Now, I´ve been taking this diet for more than a year and I´m still gaining weight and I´m stronger everyday. Why? how is it happening?

Hi I am a 16 year old male 133 pounds and ive been training for 6 months, i see little progress and i thought it was because of my calories so i increased them by 250 and I just got fat in a short period of time. Please help

If your looking to lose weight it's important to look at your caloric intake for the day, and eating a few hundred calories less than what is needed to maintain your body weight. If your active like you say, your body will naturally lose weight with lesser calories and consistency in your workouts.

cut of like 200 calories of your daily intake in the beginning. see if if you drop like a 1pound or something over the course of 3-4 days. if not cut out a little bit more. just take baby step until you see some change on the scale

I’m currently 16, weight around 195 lbs and am 5”5, and I’m currently working on trying to lose fat and gain muscle but other apps said that I need 2,300 to maintain weight and around 2,000 to lose fat while this says I need 2700 calories daily to maintain and I’m guessing around 2300-2400 calories a day to lose weight- but I just wanted to make sure how accurate this was because I have had a hard time losing fat and thought I ate too much, but could it be that my body hit a plateau when I kept eating fewer calories? So would raising my calorie intake daily help me with my fat loss problem?

The tough news is that equations are just an estimate, however they can be used to effectively give you a good baseline! From here what you want to do is take approximately 500 away from your TDEE (total daily energy expediture) and this should give you a pretty good target. Once you have done this you want to plan out your macros and work your diet around this, but make sure it’s convenient for your lifestyle too; don’t get too caught up with this, but don’t slack either. At this stage it’s best to keep a note of what you are eating ( this can be done easily and efficently on a free app called myfitnesspal) and keep track of how your weight. A nice round target is around about 1lb. When doing this please bear in mind your body will take a little time to adapt to the current diet so a week or two of tracking should do fine (just measure 3 times per week, don’t obsess over this as weight fluctuates a little all of the time), and when measuring try to do it under the same conditions every time(i.e last thing at night, or straight away in the morning).

At this point if you are losing 1lb a week roughly then just carry on as you are, and if not, readjust your calories- try knocking off an additional 250 kcals as a start point to see what happens. It’s not quite a science unfortunately, you have to play around a little and this all comes with more experience!

Take home message:

1) These provide a good estimation, but keep track of how your body is responding and adjust

2) keep protein high during weight loss (particularly if you this will help to keep FFM (fat free mass) from breaking down.

3) experiment and find what works for you! There is no one size fits all approach. My best advice is to keep reading and learning, the more knowledge and experience you gain the easier this process gets!

Hey i am 71 inches tall and i weigh roughly between 150-155. I want to gain muscle and be toned. i currently run around 2 to 3 miles a day and i take pre workout, and i drink plant based protein powder. i havent noticed any results and id love some advice. The BMR is telling to have 2727 calories per day. Truthfully i dont even know my intake. ive been looking up meal plans and such but it is difficult.

It will provide a good starting point, but it's not 100% accurate for everyone. Utilize the amount of calories it gives you as a base and track your weight while consuming that amount over time. If you gain weight or lose weight consistently, you'll know you are eating in a deficit or surplus.

I'm a 30-year-old female, weigh around 48kg and am 160cm tall (or short, depends on the viewpoint ;-) ) and I've been working out for over ten years, doing it all wrong. XD Three years ago I realised that and made some changes, got my first smartphone in 2016 (lol, I'm that backward) and the first thing I did is getting some stupid calorie tracking app - and that thing made me go on a calorie deficit for over 1,5 years.
I educated myself, decided to change everything considering my workout routine (because I seriously want to gain muscle mass - I'm lean and ''toned'' but that is not enough for my personal taste) and found this calculator here. So typed in my stats, selected moderately active (am doing workouts 5 times a week and will include cardio soon) and nearly died from a heart attack. This calculator says I need 1957 calories per day. O_O It might not be that much but for a person who's been going on 1447 calories per day for over a year, it's quite a...revelation.
Side note: I'm not anorexic nor do I have any other sort of eating disorder - I was just dumb and trusted the wrong app. XD
Any thoughts or recommendations? As I stated in the beginning, I want to gain muscle and I know it'll take some years until I get where I want to be...but I'm worried that if I switch my diet so drastically and suddenly, it'll backfire and I'll only gain stupid body fat and nothing else.
Help?

Yes, I likely have the same app you're talking about haha. My "maintenance level" on it is generally what I consume while on a cut. I've found this calculator to be fairly accurate for my own calorie intake and needs.

That said, you want to increase calorie intake slowly to get it back to your optimal intake level. Add in ~100 calories every 2 weeks or so, and measure to make sure you're not adding on unwanted bodyfat while doing so. It'll take some time and commitment, but it'll be worth it.

Once you've found your true maintenance level, you'll want to create a calorie surplus of about 250 calories. This might add on some small amounts of bodyfat, but it's a necessary evil when trying to build lean muscle.

thanks for your reply and advice. So far I've added only 150 calories to my daily intake and I'll wait to see what happens. Already thought that going for the drastical route wouldn't be the best option. XD
The idea of even a moderate fat gain bothers me though, I can't help it. Would it be possible to counteract that with a low-fat diet without cutting the fat out entirely (I know it's important to make one's body function properly)? Also cardio exercises such as running are said to counteract fat gain, though they also make it a bit harder to gain muscle mass - but I'd rather take the longer route to my goals.
Can that work?
Sorry for asking so many questions but I still feel like a noob in these matters. XD

They require different variables. To build lean muscle, you need a slight calorie surplus. To lose fat, you need a deficit. You could maintain your current weight, but it's impossible to do both simultaneously.

Focus on one goal at a time and you'll be successful. If you focus on multiple goals at time, you run the risk of not accomplishing anything.

I am 5'6. I currently weigh 146 lbs. I want to transform by losing weight and also building muscle. I have been working out but do not see a change. I have changed my dieting as of Saturday and changed my workout to a full body workout. To build muscle it states I need over 4537 calories per day. That seems like a lot and with my body percentage being 23%, I feel that it may make more fat...thoughts? should I not try to gain muscle now?

At 23% bodyfat, you'd be better off starting a fat loss phase to reveal the muscle you already have. I'd recommend subtracting 250-500 calories from your bmr and aiming to eat that amount each day.

Full body workouts are solid. That calorie count does seem rather high. I'd try to recalculate with a moderate activity level. This activity level, from what I've experience, seems to be pretty accurate for normal gym goers (i.e. non elite-athletic populations).

Yes, absolutely! With that said, I do recommend full body workouts and upper/lower workouts for most people. The increased training frequency for each muscle group seen in those types of workouts typically leads to better results for most people.

I'm 5 5, 135lbs, workout cardio 30 min a day, then weights 30min to an hr a day... I eat about 1200-1500 calories a day from mostly meat and veggies. Cereal in the morning and protein after work out. I'm trying to gain muscle, if I eat More calories than 1500 I gain belly fat... but the calculator says I need 1900 a day, I'm 29. How do I gain muscle and not fat. What am I doing wrong? I'm always hungry.

To gain lean muscle mass, you have to be willing to sacrifice some of your leanness. You must be in a slight calorie surplus to build muscle. While it may cause some slight increases in bodyfat, provided you are in a slight surplus, it should only be a minor increase and easily shredded off once you decide to start a fat loss phase.

When should weight loss phase start? I went from 18% body fat to 24% body fat. I am loving my strength gains but am worried that body fat percentages are too high. FYI my goal is the hypertrophy physique including abs for summer in NYC. Thanks for all the help. I really enjoy the website. I am currently doing the full body workout from this site.

That is awesome and you're welcome! Hope you are enjoying the program!

Ideal bodyfat percentages depend on your sex and age to be honest. And there's no one size fits all either given the differences in how we individually store fat. Sure there are some trends we can look towards to provide insight, but they're still guesses.

For men, anywhere between 6-24% can be fine, with 24% being the upper max. For women, anywhere between 14-31% can be fine, with 31% kind of being the upper max. Where you fall in between those ranges with depend on your individual physique goals. Personally, I try to stay between 10-16% myself.

I am 32. I am trying to get rid of my stubborn belly fat and get lean. My body fat percentage is 24.6%. my BMI is 22. I run everyday (slow and hiit cardio) and play soccer 1-2 days per week. I also weight lift. How do I get this fat off my stomach? Looking for any help I can get.

It's nearly impossible to isolate fat loss. My recommendation would be to maintain a calorie deficit consistently for a period of time while trying to strengthen your core through heavy compound movements (squat, deadlift) and maybe even isolation work (plank, hanging leg raise).

I am getting back into working out after some down time.Now I notice I am gaining muscle but not taking the top fat off.My stomach I need to lose more and I can see the abs there but the fat is over taking them.What can I take or do to get leaner muscle and get more fat off my stomach?and the BMI I read not to worry so my h about that which I was down to 24.6 which is good but I was walking 3 to 4 miles a day while taking Probo slim.I need help here CAUSE this aggravates me.I use Nitro tech,best bcaas,and thinking of going to the get ripped that has a fat burner in it.HELP ME WITH THIS

So is this supposed to be how many calories I’m intaking a day? I’m trying to build muscle and become more lean. I am focusing on my arms, abs and core, and anywhere else I can build muscle and just get bigger and toned overall. I’m a 20 year old male who is 5ft 11 and weighs 163 pounds. It says 3878 calories for me. Though I’m not sure if the number is right because I used a different calculator and it gave me different numbers.

Hello! There is so much information out there it is hard to know what to go with. I am a 28 year old female, 65inches tall, 154.4 lbs. I Crossfit for roughly 1 hour 4-5 times a week. Currently my trainer has me consuming 1654 calories but this calculator is almost 1.5 times that. I am trying to lower my body fat percentage while gaining muscle. Any recommendations? Maybe even some good reads? I am so lost! Thanks!

This calculator provides an amount needed to maintain your current weight. To lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit (taking in less calories than your burn). To get in a deficit, you should subtract ~250-500 calories, which may get you closer to the amount your trainer has you on.

Fat loss and muscle building are nearly impossible goals to achieve simultaneously, unless you are completely new to weight training.

Did this for years. Scott Hagnas of crossfit Portland has some interesting stuff to say about this. Check out his website. He’s well respected in the community and owns one of the original gyms. The gist is that you should do waves to restore your metabolism—like bodybuilders do. If your performance has stalled, in crossfit or body composition, you should seriously consider using this calculator. Try this as a maintenance amount of calories, to maintain metabolism and muscle and performance gains, and then cut calories by 300-500 a day for a couple months only. Then reverse diet (adding in 300 calories a day -for 2 weeks at a time, until you start to gain a pound consistently), weighing yourself only weekly, until you’re back up to the TDEE. This will create lean gains. Stay on your maintenance calories for 3-6 months to restore metabolism. Do not stay in a state of dieting indefinitely. Getting lean muscle is a multi year process. You will always gain more fat once you stop a long diet, plus you are hurting your metabolism. Use My Fitness Pal and an energy tracker.

Hi...I want to start taking supplements to help me mold my body. I lost a little weight about 25lbs but Im still 37 y/o Female 5’6in 205lbs. I still have fat mainly in my abs and lower body. What supplements would you recommend for someone starting out but only lifting weights with an at home program such as Jillian Michaels and Tony Horton. I plan on lifting to build muscles and lean my body out. I will workout 6 days a week and do a 1200-1500 calorie diet. I have been a yo yo dieter for years. I mostly changed to a healthy lifestyle this year. Please help me. Thanks in Advance!!

You'll get there. But these things take time. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll lose the weight. Supplements are meant to fill in gaps in your nutrition and help fuel your performance. But you're going to have to keep doing the things you're currently doing to get the results you want.